The One With the Biggest Heart
by Aspirator
Summary: Sometimes even the best of friends fight. That's why there's Eriol and Syaoran around to pick up the pieces. Kind of lighthearted


Sometimes even the best of friends fight. That's why there's Eriol and Syaoran around to pick up the pieces.

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><p>Warning: POVs change faster than you can say "runny nose".<p>

(because only could this story be written when I have a runny nose and a horrible cough.)

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><p>It was another one of<em> those<em> sleepovers. The ones where Tomoyo had to console an inconsolable Sakura. The ones right after some stupid high school drama. _Another one._ Tomoyo had enough of seeing Sakura like this. Tomoyo was patient but she had a long - _long_ - day and this is umpteenth time she had to watch her best friend do this to herself.

Tomoyo sighed as she plopped down next to her best friend on the couch. She eyed the tub of strawberry ice cream and glanced at the TV - it's that rerun of Pretty Little Liars again.

She clenched her teeth and watched Sakura for a while. She told herself that eventually Sakura would start ranting and all she had to do was listen and agree and make nasty comments about the other party, then her best friend would fall asleep crying, and tomorrow she'll be fine.

But Tomoyo's patience has been worn thin. As if a whipped by rage, Tomoyo bounced up and stood in front of Sakura like a feral animal. Apparently blocking the screen didn't catch her attention, for Sakura just sniffed and focused on her ice cream. The mountains it formed after a spoon has finished its course was quite interesting, really.

"Sakura! Get a grip!" Tomoyo screamed, shaking with frustration.

Looking up from her tub of ice cream, glassy emerald eyes met fierce amethyst orbs. Sakura blinked. Tomoyo had never really raised her voice against her before.

But...Tomoyo meant well, right?

"I...I...I just..." Sakura didn't know what to say. She couldn't even focus on one thought.

"You just-You just WHAT? You expect people to react to you, to like you, like you do to them but _they don't_!" Tomoyo continued, throwing up her arms in a frustrated manner. "You just don't get it, do you? Why are you SO THICK? No matter how many times Luna back stabs you, or David takes advantage of your gullibleness, or Jake cheats on you, or whatever stupid drama comes your way, you still think the world's full of unicorns and damn rainbows and there's gonna be sunshine everyday."

Tomoyo paused to catch her breath.

"There's rain before a rainbow." Sakura mumbled.

Tomoyo threw up her arms, mouthing 'why' at the ceiling.

Sakura tried to swallow what her best friend was saying but...It was just so hard! She couldn't think, she couldn't concentrate. Her mind's a whirlwind of emotions.

She felt the need to explain herself. "...I was there for him and through it all and we were friends through it all but when...he just - I thought he would be there for me too like I was with him through all that but when Luna...he just turned - so fast. He's just gone in just a blink and I thought he would back me when Luna-But he-but-" Sakura took a shaky breath and blinked repeatedly.

"But he's a stupid, shallow, backstabbing, freak-face douche-y jerk!" Tomoyo finished for her, "You expect people to treat you like you treat them! You give and then you expect receive as much as you give- but that's not how life works. The world doesn't revolve around you, Sakura!" It was weird saying that to one of the most selfless people Tomoyo has ever met. (The other being Syaoran, of course.) But sometimes the world just happens that way to Sakura, and sometimes Sakura just unconsciously expects it.

Sakura blinked. She stood up, setting the ice cream tub gently on the glass coffee table and opened her mouth as if to say something, but ended up biting her lip. Then gently, she replied, "I don't, I didn't mean..."

But Tomoyo wasn't done. "Ms. Fuckface and Mr. Fuckface didn't just hurt you. They all didn't just hurt you. So maybe you were the target or maybe you weren't but you're hurt anyway, but it wasn't just you. You always come here and make yourself a little pity party but you're not the only one. I was hurt too. Chiharu was hurt too. But does she go and make herself a little party- no! She doesn't! She gets it. She knows that some people are douches and maybe she cries a little but she gets it and she moves on. So stop being sorry for yourself because the world doesn't revolve around you and not everybody's like you."

Tomoyo looked sorry, but couldn't quite get herself to say sorry. She couldn't apologize for the truth. But that didn't relieve her from feeling helpless and just plain terrible when Sakura turned and ran out the door.

Spotting the abandoned tub of ice cream on her coffee table, Tomoyo moved to pick it up. She stared at it for a second, then as if sighing took too much of her energy, she plopped down on her sofa. Staring at her TV in a daze, she began eating the ice cream, tears flowing gently down her cheeks.

It took a while to realize her _best friend_ had just ran crying _from_ her.

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><p>Eriol woke up with a start, a bad feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. He rubbed his eyes, grabbed his glasses, and checked if his two pets were still alive. He stumbled around a bit, grabbing a shirt, and saw Suppi, his cat, sleeping peacefully by his book on the nightstand.<p>

As he was about to leave his bedroom, he caught a glimpse of his dog, Nakuru, under his bed. Well, mostly under his bed. Nakuru was stretched out with her butt sticking out from under his bed. Her pet owner shook his head in wonder, and headed for the kitchen.

Eriol always had had the strangest pets. Considering they were a cat and a dog, and they still got along sufficiently well. Why had he needed to check if his pets were alive? Silly Eriol, of course they would be alive. But it was just that kind of bad feeling.

Glancing at the clock - it was midnight - Eriol thoughtfully downed a glass of water.

Something made him look out the window. Eriol normally didn't have his elegant velvet curtains open, but then sometimes Nakuru forgets. She is a dog after all. A well-trained yet unpredictable dog.

Squinting, Eriol furrowed his eyebrows. Did someone just run out from Tomoyo's house down the street? It couldn't be Tomoyo because there was no trail of silky black hair after her.

It had to be Sakura. But that was impossible. Why would Sakura run from Tomoyo?

Eriol watched incredulously as Sakura paused in her running just a few houses down the street and collapsed, sobbing supposedly, hence the shaking shoulders and the head buried in her knees.

What was he still doing in his own house? Eriol spurred into action and grabbed two of his jackets and his phone, running out the door to Sakura's aid.

His mind turning quickly, a ghost of a smile appeared on his worried expression.

"Sakura?" He asked as he approached the hump on the sidewalk.

She looked up and met his dark knowing eyes with confused glassy ones of her own.

He sat down next to her. He looked up at the stars. "I don't think it'd be smart to stay out here all night, Sakura."

She didn't reply but followed his gaze to the stars.

"And I couldn't just leave you out in the cold."

There was a pause as Eriol looked at Sakura, and Sakura looked down. Then came her soft voice, "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to intrude and- but I don't know where else to go and-"

Eriol knew what she was going to say. "You can't stay at my house. I'm really sorry."

Sakura looked at him in surprise, then a thin line replaced her open mouth. "Of course, I didn't mean to expect - well, I mean of course you're busy, I can't possibly expect the world to revolve around me, right?" At this, she turned away, bitter.

Eriol sighed, "That's not what I meant. Well, you really can't stay at my house, but I know somewhere you can crash."

Sakura looked at him quizzically.

Eriol smiled reassuringly. "Let me just make a phone call."

Eriol called Syaoran apartment home phone, because he knew it would go straight to voicemail and maybe Syaoran would hear him out before deciding to ignore him. He knew Syaoran would think he was up to no good when it was midnight. (That was only one time, and it was Nakuru's fault, really.)

Eriol moved away a little bit, just out of Sakura earshot, and waited until the ringing stopped and it beeped.

"Syaoran, I know it's midnight but this is an emergency. And I mean that and I'm not joking when I say it involves Sakura."

At that Syaoran lunged for the phone and even if he was half asleep, he's fully awake now. "What about Sakura?"

On the other end, though Syaoran didn't know it, Eriol smiled victoriously, he had reacted as he had expected. He replied calmly, "Oh, she's just sitting on the sidewalk hopeless and crying-"

"_What? _What did you do to her?" Syaoran frowned, reaching for a shirt and a jacket.

"I found her." Came his best friend's even response.

Syaoran didn't reply as his eyebrows furrowed, fumbling around.

"She needs to crash somewhere." Eriol had to say no more as Syaoran grabbed his keys. "She's two houses down from my house. Across the street. I'll stay with her until you come."

As Syaoran hung up, he briefly wondered why Eriol couldn't just take her in since she was there already. But then he didn't really care anyway.

He was there in record time, though his humble apartment was a few miles from Eriol's extravagant estate. Why Eriol lived in an estate when he was all by himself was beyond Syaoran, but Eriol was Eriol.

He got out of the car and nodded to Eriol, who, with a quick goodbye, walked back to his own house.

Syaoran wasn't sure what to say as he regarded the hump on the sidewalk. "Sakura?"

She didn't even look up, but only buried her face further between the gap of her knees and her chest. Syaoran knew to wait.

After a minute, Syaoran opted to sit next to her, looking up at the sky. He figured one reason Eriol liked it here was that he could have a clearer view of the stars.

"I'm really sorry." Came her muffled voice.

Syaoran looked at her quizzically, but let her continue.

"I don't wanna intrude and you must be so busy and I'm just such a mess and," Sakura took a shaky breath. "And it's really late and I must've caused you all this trouble and you were probably sleeping and-"

Having had enough of her rambling, Syaoran looked at her gently, "It's okay, Sakura."

"But you must be really busy and this is kind of unexpected and I can't just crash at your house-"

"Sakura." He moved from beside her to crouching in front of her. "Sakura, look at me."

When she only opted to wipe her face with her sleeves. He stated a little more sternly, "Sakura."

She finally looked up with teary eyes.

Syaoran smiled at her, though his inside was twisted in knots, for he couldn't bear to see her like this. "I would be delighted to have Lady Sakura crash in my humble abode."

At this, she smiled a little. Which gave Syaoran the green light to stand up and offer his hand.

Pausing to wipe some more of her tears, Sakura took his hand and let him guide her into his car.

As he was driving, Syaoran quietly talked about anything and everything while Sakura sat quietly, occasionally releasing a breathy giggle at his jokes.

It was a strange sight to see, for usually it was the other way around.

That night, or rather morning, Sakura fell asleep on Syaoran's bed (after a lot of persuading from Syaoran) dry-eyed and smiling. As she drifted off to sleep, she saw Syaoran's caring amber eyes and gentle smiling face when he said, "sometimes the people with the biggest hearts get hurt the most."


End file.
